Football in recent times has become more than just a game that pits two teams against one another for crowds to enjoy. With the large amount of money that has now become associated with the sport, clubs have to remain on the top of the financial pyramid to ensure success on the pitch.
Players transfer fees, ticket sales, sponsorship deals, marketability are all important factors in deciding the revenue that is generated by teams which have to be reinvested every season. Some teams have managed to do that very well because of smart planning or simply because their owners have deep pockets.
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Here are the 10 most valuable clubs based on their market value as given by transfermarkt
10) Liverpool – €366.25 million
Liverpool have endured tough times in the recent past. In the last five years, they have managed to qualify for the Champions League only once.The club are planning to expand their seat capacity as well in efforts to improve revenue from ticket sales and try and bridge the gap to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Liverpool’s ownership changed in 2010 when the Boston Red Sox’s major shareholder John W Henry took over after he had a bid successfully accepted. In terms of Deloitte's Football Money League that ranks teams based on revenue they currently are 9th in the world at €391.8 million.
With a world class manager in Jurgen Klopp taking over the reigns this season, Liverpool might be able to attract big names to the club and try and qualify for the Champions League next season. The lucrative TV deals in the English Premier League should also help in improving the club's finances.
9) Juventus – €379.80 million
Juventus have reigned supreme over Italian football over the past four seasons. The Turin giants won 4 league titles in a row and still hold some of the biggest talents in football. Even after a poor start in 2015/16 Juve have shown their incredible ability to bounce back and are now 3 points on top of Serie A.
But Juventus are the only Italian side on this list despite all their success. The club even managed to reach the finals of the Champions League last season after previously making the final in 2003. Juventus are finding it difficult to compete financially with the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich because of a lower marketability of Italian football.
According to Forbes, their current revenue from their commercial streams is around €182 million while Manchester United make approximately €971 million. That is a huge gap in earning despite the achievements of the club in the last three years.
In an effort to increase their market value the club is building a complex known as Juventus Village which will include new training facilities, the club's head office and a hotel. The project will be ready by 2017 in which Juve have invested close to €100 million.
8) Paris Saint-Germain – €414.75 million
PSG have become a dominant force in European football in recent years. Ever since they were taken over by the Qatar Sports Investment group the club became the richest in French Football and one of the richest in Europe.
To understand the impact of the takeover, in 2010, the club were not even in the top 30 of the Deloitte Money League in terms of revenue generated. But in 2012, they shot up to 10th after improving their marketability by investing on big name players.
In the 2014-15 season, their revenue was at €480.8 million the fourth highest in Europe, above the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Arsenal. PSG have ensured they have invested wisely in players helping them win the Ligue 1 titles for the last three seasons. They set a new record this year as well after winning the title in just 30 games
7) Manchester United – €414.75 million
Manchester United are a surprising 7th in terms of their market value. The club is normally on top of this list but has slipped down in recent years. United still rake in the highest revenue among English clubs and are third highest in Europe.
Their revenue last year was around the figure of €519 million which is about £408 million. But this season the club are expecting to cross that figure by a considerable margin. If reports are true then United will become the first English club to cross the £500 million mark.
Despite dropping out of the Champions League and the Europea League this season the club are doing well financially due to the massive TV revenue that they receive through the Premier League. But because of sub-par results in Europe and the league they have seen their market value drop.
6) Arsenal – €440 million
Arsenal have been the underachievers of the Premier League in the past few seasons. A side that looked like winning the title at the beginning of a season end up falling well short by the end of it.
It seems to be a case of Deja Vu this season as well. After a wonderful first half of the season, Arsenal were on top of the league only to suffer a poor run of form since the turn of the year. But something that Arsenal can boast is their financial stability.
Arsene Wenger has been a very shrewd man when it comes to transfers and also keeps a close eye on financial aspects of the club. They were recently cleared of debt after paying off their Stadium cost and also signed their biggest ever kit deal with Puma in 2014,worth a whopping £30 million a year.
Arsenal’s current revenue is €435.5 million which is the 7th highest in the world. So will Arsene Wenger splash the cash in the summer considering their cash reserves?
5) Chelsea – €489.75 million
Chelsea has suffered a dismal campaign this year. Currently, 10th in the Premier League they are 10 points of the top four. They still have a small chance to qualify for the Champions League if other results go their way but a poor first half of the season means they have a mountain to climb.
But in the past decade and a half, the London Outfit have gone from winning only one League title since 1950 to four in the space of 13 years. Roman Abramovic has helped the club became a footballing and financial powerhouse also increasing their fan base every season.
Their revenue last season was €420 million just €15 million short of Arsenal's figure. Chelsea’s model is similar to that of Manchester City and Paris Siant Germain. But City and PSG seem to have found more success in recent times compared to the London club.
4) Manchester City – €501.75 million
Manchester City has become a force to be reckoned with in the last few seasons. The club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi group in 2008 and have become one of the wealthiest clubs in the world. Slowly but steadily they have acquired some of the best talents in world football because of the wages they are able to offer.
City have now won the league titles in two of that last four seasons and reached the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time this year. Unlike Chelsea, CIty’s financial model has been better-structured which has helped the club reap profits where Chelsea are accumulating a loss.
The club have also established a worldwide brand name with their success, bringing in new supporters every year. But arguably the biggest positive this year has been the appointment of Pep Guardiola as the head coach who is set to take the reigns from July.
CIty’s revenue last season was €463 million and with arguably one of the best coaches in the world to take over in the summer that figure will only rise.
3) Bayern Munich – €578.55 million
At number three are Bayern Munich who have been in the top 10 list for a long time now. The only German team in this list are one of the best club teams in the world and set high standards of football in Germany and Europe.
The Bavarian club are on course to win their fourth consecutive Bundesliga title and are currently five points ahead of rivals Dortmund. They have established a worldwide brand because of the club's massive success and the star players they have.
Last year the club earned a revenue of €474 million and in terms of a brand Bayern has the highest value, greater than clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Bayern’s board of directors mainly consists of members from several MNCs including Addidas, Audi and Allianz.
2) Barcelona – €693 million
Barcelona claim the second spot on this list. The Catalan club have dominated Europe in the last ten years winning the Champions League four times and the La Liga six times.
They have achieved the historic treble twice, once under Pep Guardiola and once under Luis Enrique. The club garnered a huge fan following after establishing their Tiki-Taka brand of football. With players like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the team is not difficult to see why they have been so popular.
According to the Deloitte Football Money League, the club amassed a revenue of €560.8 million last season which is second to only Real Madrid. The amount of money they make is also visible from how much they are able to invest in bringing world class talent to the Camp Nou.
In terms of player worth, Barcelona’s team value is the second highest in the world which is a figure of about €669 million. Forbes also ranked them as fourth most valuable sports team in the world in 2015.
1) Real Madrid – €707.30 million
And finally, still occupying the number one spot is Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have become an example of profitability and branding in world football. The club continued to attract some of the best players in the world with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale some of the popular players in their star-studded lineup.
The Galactico project might be an expensive one but it has definitely reaped rewards in a financial sense. But when it comes to results on the pitch it hasn’t been up to the mark considering the investment that has been made.
But in terms of revenue generated, last year the club earned a massive €577 million the highest of any club.They are also ranked as the most valuable sports team in the world by Forbes valued at $3.26 billion.
